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Penn State Camp Confidential: A look at Bill O'Brien's Nittany Lions as August practice sessions begin

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Penn State coach Bill O'Brien welcomes back 1,000-yard rusher Zach Zwinak in 2013 but the offense won't really begin to take shape until O'Brien chooses his starting quarterback in August camp. The contenders are Tyler Ferguson and Christian Hackenberg.
(PA Media Group/Joe Hermitt)

When we last left Bill O'Brien's Penn State football team on a day that really mattered, and I'm thinking back to Nov. 24 of last year, the Saturday that Nittany Lions shook off some early struggles to dispatch Rose Bowl-bound Wisconsin 24-21 on Senior Day at Beaver Stadium.

But it's a new year and the first day of Penn State's August camp is today. O'Brien and his assistant coaches have 29 practices to mold the Nittany Lions into a formidable bunch for the Aug. 31 season opener with Syracuse in East Rutherford, N.J..

The Lions must address a number of issues this month, none more bigger than identifying the starting quarterback.

It will either be redshirt sophomore Tyler Ferguson or true freshman Christian Hackenberg manning running the show against Syracuse.

And O'Brien intends to pick his starting QB midway through camp.

"I don't think it's unusual,'' O'Brien said at a Big Ten media days news conference in Chicago late last month, when asked about the chances a true freshman (Hackenberg) wins the quarterback job.

But Ferguson does have a slight experience advantage. The JUCO from California enrolled last January and spent the spring learning O'Brien's offense. He has a strong right arm and emerged ahead of another QB contender, Steven Bench, prompting Bench to transfer to South Florida.

"Tyler, we worked with in the spring and he improved every day,'' O'Brien said in Chicago.

"One thing that's really exciting about working with young quarterbacks is that you get a chance to really mold that quarterback.''

So let's put QUARTERBACK on the board as PSU's main priority for August camp.

Here are a few others …

LINEBACKER HEALTH. As a result of NCAA sanctions relating to the Jerry Sandusky scandal and some player transfers, the Lions are low on scholarship bodies for the next couple of years. Everyone knows that.

PSU has very few established linebackers on the roster. Once you get past projected starters Glenn Carson, Mike Hull and Nyeem Wartman, the only other scholarship guys are Ben Kline, Gary Wooten and true freshman Brandon Bell.

The Lions must keep their starting linebackers healthy. Must.

ON THE NOSE. PSU's defense is moving on without first-team All-Big Ten nose tackle Jordan Hill, who now with the Seattle Seahawks.

There are a number of contenders pushing for playing time at the position and Kyle Baublitz, a redshirt junior from York, sits atop the depth chart.

But there is another player on the roster that has a chance to make an impact on the nose -- redshirt freshman Austin Johnson. And don't forget about Johnson's classmates, Brian Gaia and Derek Dowrey.

PSU must find some return men with big-play ability and also do a better job of creating running room for their returners.

Top candidates for return duty are running back Bill Belton and wide receivers Eugene Lewis, Alex Kenney and Richy Anderson.

IMPACT FRESHMEN. Is help on the way from O'Brien's 2013 recruiting class? Some young players are going to step up, the way tight end Jesse James did a year ago.

A few freshmen enrolled early to participate in spring drills, notably tight end Adam Breneman, wideout Richy Anderson and defensive backs Jordan Smith and Anthony Smith. Quarterback Tyler Ferguson is a first-year player but he is considered a redshirt sophomore.